South Florida Sun-Sentinel (Sunday)
Government branches not ‘coequal’
The House impeachment managers state in their brief: “Our constitutional system simply cannot function if the President, acting to extend his own grasp on power against the expressed will of the people, prompts an armed attack against a coequal branch that prevents it from performing its core constitutional responsibilities.”
I agree entirely, except for one thing — the word “coequal.”
Listen to representatives and senators, Democrats and Republicans, talk about impeachment or other issues that touch on the relationship between the three branches of government, and you’ll hear the word “coequal” over and over again. In 2019, when Nancy Pelosi was sworn in as speaker of the House for the second time, she proclaimed Congress “coequal to the presidency and judiciary.”
Richard Nixon must be having a good laugh.
Until Watergate, the notion that the three branches of government were coequal was considered far-fetched. This coequal doctrine was largely an effort by the Nixon administration to keep congressional investigators at bay.
What does coequal mean? Well, equal means being the same in status. One hundred pennies equals one dollar. Coequal means having equivalent standing. A quarterback and kicker are equally on the same team, but they are not coequal in their power, pay or responsibilities. At least that’s what the Founding Fathers meant by coequal. Dictionaries have since muddied the waters.
The founders never imagined that the legislative, executive and judicial branches were coequals. Their intent, made plain in the structure of the Constitution, was for Congress to be supreme. That’s why Article 1 is about Congress — literally the first branch — and its powers.
Indeed, if you search through the Federalist Papers, the word coequal appears only eight times. Not once does it say that the three branches of the federal government are coequal. They reserved that term to describe the standing of the federal government to the states or the relationship between the House and Senate.
Think about what the founders were most passionate about. “Taxation without representation” probably tops the list.
Well, only Congress can tax. Indeed, all tax bills are supposed to start in the House, because the House is elected by the people. (Senators were originally elected by the states.) Congress is also the only branch of government with “the power of the purse.” It alone (at least according to the Constitution) can declare war. Also, in case you forgot, it writes the laws.
Taxing, spending, declaring war, writing laws — that’s Congress’ bag, baby.
Now ask: What can Congress do that the other branches can’t? Well, through impeachment, it can fire the president, vice president or any member of the judiciary. Indeed, with the exception of the Supreme Court, it creates every other federal court. It also creates every federal agency and department. Everyone who works for Uncle Sam, except for the president and vice president, has a job created by Congress. And their job — including, for the most part, the president — is to do what Congress says.
As historian Jay Cost puts it, “If I get to tell you what to do, but you do not get to tell me what to do, who is actually in charge?”
Recall, that the founders were drawing on the English experience — and their own as colonists. They were partisans of parliament, not the crown. Their biggest worry was that a president would become a new king, which is why they loaded up Congress with all the power.
Against this backdrop, the Donald Trump-inspired siege on the Capitol is not just a shocking affront to the constitutional order; Congress’ response is a sign of how damaged that order already was. In earlier eras, the reaction from Congress wouldn’t have been partisan but institutional. Don’t get me wrong: Trump deserved impeachment for his role in the Jan. 6 attack. That most congressional Republicans responded as if an outgoing president were their king is repugnant.
But Pelosi’s response, from refusing to consult Republicans in the drafting of impeachment articles to declining to recruit Republicans to serve as floor managers, was evidence that congressional Democrats see their role through a partisan prism, too.
When Trump attacked “Obama judges,” Chief Justice John Roberts — a Republican appointee — defended the judiciary. “We do not have Obama judges or Trump judges, Bush judges or Clinton judges,” Roberts said.
Congress should have responded in the same spirit. Legislators may be elected as Republicans or Democrats, but party affiliation is meaningless under the Constitution, and legislators should have responded as defenders of their constitutional roles, not as members of some political team. After all, Republicans and Democrats were coequally deserving of murder in the eyes of some of those barbarians.
Lamar Fisher, member, Broward County Commission. Broward County’s Chief Resilience Officer, Jennifer Jurado, provided an update regarding the county’s development of a countywide resilience dashboard. The new resilience dashboard is set to be finalized and promoted in March 2021, and I am eager to get this platform before the public! The dashboard is designed to provide a collective representation of climate adaptation and mitigating efforts, with a showcase and summary of county and municipal initiatives, from inland to the coast. I am excited to see this finally coming to fruition as we continue to show our resilience efforts countywide!
Beam Furr, member, Broward County Commission. What does adaptation to climate change look like? Broward County is already taking positive steps to answer that question. Broward will be implementing new requirements for minimum floor elevation for buildings and structures moving forward. These floor elevations are based on the 100-year flood maps and projections of what floor elevations will be habitable in the decades to come. This is an example of using scientific data to point us in the right direction. We can expect more of these types of adaptations over the years as we continue to grapple with the reality of climate change and sea-level rise.
Marlon A. Hill, of counsel, Weiss Serota Helfman Cole & Bierman, P.L. In less than 30 days, there will be a number of local municipal elections throughout South Florida. Though most of us may be recovering from the election cycle of 2020, it is critical that we lend some attention to the impact of local elections on our daily lives. Disappointingly, these local elections result in low voter turnout percentages. This must change. With early voting and vote-by-mail participation options, voters have less excuses to bypass inserting their voices on the ballot. This is a clarion reminder to conduct your research, contact the candidates with questions, and rally your family and neighbors to exercise their right to vote.
Christine Hunschofsky, member, Florida House of Representatives. Feb. 14, the day of the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, will always be a day that profoundly impacts our community. As we move forward, we acknowledge the tremendous loss, pain and trauma that still affects so many in our community. We will always remember the 17 whose lives were taken that day — Alyssa Alhadeff, Scott Beigel, Martin Duque, Nicholas Dworet, Aaron Feis, Jaime Guttenberg, Chris Hixon, Luke Hoyer, Cara Loughran, Gina Montalto, Joaquin Oliver, Alaina Petty, Meadow Pollack, Helena Ramsay, Alex Schachter, Carmen Schentrup and Peter Wang. Our hearts go out to their families and friends.
Chip LaMarca, member, Florida House of Representatives. As a former city and county commissioner, I understand the need for home rule on certain issues. Sometimes, state preemption makes sense. Such was the case for ridesharing and having a statewide solution for companies like Uber and Lyft, instead of different rules between local governments. However, when it comes to vacation rentals, my stance has always been clear — home rule. If a city wants to allow vacation rentals, they should. If a city wants to reasonably regulate vacation rentals, they should. I will continue to fight on behalf of our neighborhoods for local control on this important issue.
Tina Polsky, member, Florida Senate. The 2020 elections proved that voting by mail is a safe and secure option for those with health concerns, lack of transportation, etc. So why are we trying to complicate a method that was used by 4,855,677 Floridians? Next week, the Senate Committee on Ethics and Elections will hear Senate Bill 90, which would require voters to reapply for a vote-by-mail ballot every year, rather than allow the current time frame of every two years. Seeing that Democrats voted by mail in greater numbers than Republicans, this bill is merely an unnecessary ploy to suppress voters.
Daphnee Sainvil, government and external affairs manager, Fort Lauderdale. Economic recovery is on everyone’s mind. We want to look ahead and reassure residents, visitors and businesses that the city is ready to reopen safely. Our Economic and Community Investment Division is ready to revitalize and reengage the community by ramping up its social media presence, revamping the website, and conducting various free webinars for our entrepreneurial and established business community. Be on the lookout for a new concept, which makes you an ambassador of business for Fort Lauderdale. Follow them on Twitter and Instagram @FtLaudBiz; email economicdevelopment@fortlauderdale.gov for more information.
Pam Tahan, CEO, Wellington Regional Medical Center. Here is my fear. Right now, at this very moment, members of our community are ignoring the signs and symptoms of heart disease or stroke for fear of going to a hospital and being exposed to COVID. Modern medicine can perform what seems like miracles to save a person’s life in a medical emergency, but only if the individual seeks care. Hospitals across the country have taken steps to protect patients by isolating COVID patients in the ER to other parts of the hospital to minimize exposure to non-COVID patients. February is the perfect time to make a commitment to your heart — after all, Valentine’s Day is here and February is National Heart Month.